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Appellate court: Land acquisition would affect railroad
By Robert GuttersohN
Girard
The 11th District Court of Appeals affirmed that the decision of the city’s attempted appropriation of land owned by Youngstown Belt Railway Co. is up to the federal Surface Transportation Board.
The court, in a 2-1 decision Monday, agreed the city’s acquisition of land, known as Mosier Yard along the Mahoning River, would interfere with railroad operations.
Girard Mayor James Melfi said the city will appeal the decision to the Ohio Supreme Court.
“YBR’s current uses and future plans for the property indicate that Girard’s appropriation, if granted, could have the ultimate effect of unreasonably interfering with rail transportation. ...” Appellate Judge Cynthia Westcott Rice wrote for the majority.
“We believe the appropriation should be heard in the [Trumbull County Court of Common Pleas], because we are not interfering with railroad operations,” Melfi said. “That’s not to say we can’t win at the Surface Transportation Board.”
On Nov. 15, 2006, the city filed an appropriation case for 41.5 of the 55 acres running between the two railways in the city. Melfi said Girard intended to use the land for park purposes, leaving 13.5 acres free along the rail.
A common pleas court judge decided May 15, 2010, that the decision should be made by the STB, which normally decides on matters involving roads and railways.
Appellate Judge Diane Grendell wrote in her dissent that “Girard did not exercise eminent domain over the portion of the property where the railroad tracks are located.”
Scott Lanz, a lawyer for the railroad company, said the decision confirms that the city’s appropriation of land would interfere with railway operations and violate Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act. Lanz said it should be a federal decision.
“I’ve never heard of a city who’s tried to appropriate railroad land on the scope that Girard was attempting to take,” Lanz said.
Despite the conclusion, Melfi still found favor within the decision where, in one point, the majority agreed with the acquisition.